This World Embryologist Day, let’s celebrate the Scientists who bring life into the world

Doctors and Scientists save lives, but their role goes far beyond than just being healers and life savers. They are the ultimate life-givers, making miracles happen the form of healthy babies to couples that have otherwise lost hope at conceiving.

25th July has been marked as an exceptional date in the history of humankind, with the birth of Louise Brown, the first IVF baby, through the successful intervention of scientists in matters related to infertility. Bringing hope to thousands of other childless couples, more than 8 million IVF healthy babies have been brought into this world through the living field of ART since then.

Elucidating on how fulfilling their jobs have proved to be, some of the renowned embryologists talk about how they have helped couples realize their dream of becoming parents.  Goral Gandhi (Indo Nippon IVF Clinic) a pioneering name in ART and IVF in India, says, “Embryologists are not just doctors merely following a protocol. It takes a certain dedication and passion for the work that we do, whether it is the QC measures that we so vehemently follow or making the best use of patient material to produce successful chance at pregnancy.”

Dr Goral Gandhi   (Indo Nippon IVF ) has successfully taught embryology to more than 300 students, who share her passion for constantly looking for new ways to help patients through better treatment practices and awareness. Talking about the empowering effect of information and awareness, Goral Gandhi says, “Childless couples who are preparing to bring a child into this world but are affected by infertility related barriers might find great comfort in knowing that they have a medical team of embryologist by their side, to help them experience the joy of parenthood.”

The work of an embryologist is mostly behind closed laboratories, where they foster healthy growth of embryos and their eventual culmination into future babies. It is not a typical 9-5 job, rather requires relentless hours of hard work and dedication, but is one of the most unique and fulfilling careers in existence, says Liesl Nel-Themaat, the IVF Lab Director of the University of Colorado Advanced Reproductive Medicine program.

With such dedicated scientists each individual’s contribution brings new breakthroughs in approaching infertility. The boundaries of what is possible with IVF and fertility treatment are continually being expanded by these doctors.

Crediting the pivotal role of embryologists in bringing assisted reproduction to what it is today, Lareina F. Welch, a leading embryologist, congratulates the doctor worldwide for creating and supporting life. “This honor wouldn’t be possible without the tireless work of pioneer embryologist and the continued efforts of current day embryologists. To all my colleagues and pioneers in our field, I thank you for your dedication and passion. I wish everyone 100% fertilization on World Embryologist’s Day!” she says.

In Vitro Fertilization/Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection for Male Infertility

By Goral Gandhi (Indo Nippon IVF) – Progress in the field of assisted reproduction, and particularly micromanipulation, now heralds a new era in the management of severe male factor infertility, not amenable to medical or surgical correction.

By overcoming natural barriers to conception, in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET), subzonal sperm insemination, partial zona dissection, and intracytoplasmatic injection of sperm (ICSI) now offer couples considered irreversibly infertile, the option of parenting a genetically related child.

However, unlike IVF, which necessitates an optimal sperm number and function to successfully complete the sequence of events leading to fertilization, micro manipulation techniques, such as ICSI, involving the direct injection of a spermatozoon into the oocyte, obviate all these requirements and may be used to alleviate severe male factor infertility due to the lack of sperm in the ejaculate due to severely impaired spermatogenesis (non-obstructive azoospermia) or non-reconstruct-able reproductive tract obstruction (obstructive azoospermia).

ICSI may be performed with fresh or cryopreserved ejaculate sperm where available, micro surgically extracted epididymal or testicular sperm with satisfactory fertilization, clinical pregnancy, and ongoing pregnancy rates.

However, despite a lack of consensus regarding the genetic implications of ICSI or the application and efficacy of preimplantation genetic diagnosis prior to assisted reproductive technology (ART), the widespread use of ICSI, increasing evidence of the involvement of genetic factors in male infertility and the potential risk of transmission of genetic disorders to the offspring, generate major concerns with regard to the safety of the technique, necessitating a thorough genetic evaluation of the couple, classification of infertility and adequate counseling of the implications and associated risks prior to embarking on the procedure.

The objective of this review is to highlight the indications, advantages, limitations, outcomes, implications and safety of using IVF/ICSI for male factor infertility to enable a more judicious use of these techniques and maximize their potential benefits while minimizing foreseen complications.

For more information you can visit here: in vitro fertilization